Northwoods Pet

We told ourselves we were NOT going to do this, but she is so cute! 

One of our very few neighbors are animal lovers.  They have been putting out their dinner meat scraps in the same spot every night.  A female fox comes by after dinner, eats, and moves on.  She does have a den in the area and had a litter this spring.  Others have seen the den, but I haven't though I have seen her walking around.  One night WE had a pile of scraps so I walked around the house, down the stairs, across the yard, down another set of stairs toward the lake to reach the fox dining spot.  I forgot to bring a flashlight, so much stumbling was involved.  I didn't really put a coat on, so I was cold.  By the time I got back to my well-light, warm house, I decided that the fox can fend for herself. 

The next night that generated scraps Case says, " This is better than having a dog."  I relate the above story, so he volunteers to go with me with flashlight in hand and coats on our backs.  When we return, he agrees with me that the fox can fend for herself. 

The next night that generated scraps, Case volunteers to handle it himself but with a twist.  There is a small stump about 10 feet on the other side of the garage.  He has decided that this will be the fox dinner place #2.  Sure enough, the scraps were gone by morning.  Of course, we wondered if another animal had eaten it but no matter.  Whoever ate it, we were OK with it. 

After a full afternoon of working outside, we stood on the porch watching the sunset in the west which also happens to be the direction of the garage.  The fox walked up the driveway, looked at us, trotted to the stump that was empty, and trotted back to the driveway.  She proceeded to sit down, look at us, stare at us, waiting for us to "go to the stump."  She is so beautiful:  black legs and feet, full tail, golden red color and of course, like all foxes, looks like she is smiling.  We had nothing to give her at the time but Foxy needn't worry.  There will be scraps later.

Quite a Week to make me Weak!

Another quick trip to Illinois to yes - finally - clear out the house and garage.  It is done.  Now, to sell the house.  That happened in a few more days I am very happy to say.  Buyer is pre-approved for a loan so we are thinking it looks good.  The price ended up being about $50,000 less than the original price 4 months ago.  However, we did follow our plan of either making a change in listing or lowering the price every 2-3 weeks until it sold. We followed through with the plan and it sold.

I think that our retirement frame of mind will be much better with the major financial arrangements completed. 

Border Wars

Whenever the Green Bay Packers play the Minnesota Vikings, this area calls it Border Wars because our local television station is in the twin cities of Superior, WI and Duluth, MN.  What a game last night!  I'm not really a big sports fan, but I couldn't miss this match up.  Glad to say that we (Wisconsin) won! 

A Downside to the Northwoods

We received a post card from Sawyer County that it was time to clean out our septic tank.  If you don't know what a septic tank is, you can skip this blog entry.  Looking through the phone book for someone to handle this task, we saw some interesting choices:

• Scott's "I take crap from everyone."
• Fragrant Septic
• Lynn's Honeywagon
• Yesterday's Meals on Wheels 

Instead of choosing, we called a neighbor who recommended Fragrant.  His truck had a picture of a skunk smelling a flower.  Suggestions to us:  switch from Tide and use single-ply.  On the upside, he said we had a good-looking drain field.  If I had a nickel every time I heard that, I would be a rich woman.

Another lesson learned about people in rural areas.  They are not on time.  They are early.  They get up and get going.  I remember that fact from growing up on a farm.  I greeted Fragrant at 8:20 for the 9:00 am appointment.   Someone who shall remain nameless was still in his pj's.  He is used to starting his day at 10 am.  He will learn to become Northwoods or learn to dress quickly. 

I Hope I Never Get Tired of...

I hope I never get tired of everyday occurrences in the Northwoods.  After dinner we took a brief walk.

The moon is almost full.
The sky is clear.
The water in the lake shimmers in the moonlight.
We consciously breath in the pine-scented air. 

I hope I never get tired of  everyday occurrences.

Saw a Sign in a Farm & Fleet

"Chocolate...it's not just for breakfast any more."

I laughed out loud for a long time.  I didn't buy it but may go back.

Not all Wine and Roses

We made a quick trip to Illinois for financial appointments and what we thought was the last load of our stuff.  Realizing early on that this would indeed not be the last trip to move, we were in very poor moods which would escalate.  Plus each of us would drive a vehicle separately so all the cars and the pick up would finally be in Wisconsin.  Here are the main points - too long to write out.

• left too late in the day
• rush hour traffic
• cell went dead
• charger in other car
• one of the cars got a broken alternator or something - it won't go - is the bottom line
• find a uhaul place that is open
• Tad near Milwaukee talks us through the streets of Madison 
• Madison has too many traffic circles.
• tow dolly home a busted car
• Ashley Furniture semi knocked out 100 yards of guard rail and ended up in a ditch at a Dells exit
• that's what we saw after standing in traffic for 30 minutes
• more hubbub farther down the road
• ran over dead deer 
• enough guts left that we had to wash the pick up, tow dolly, and busted car when we got home at 1 am